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Bounce point

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 2:03 am
by lanternz
The bounce point does not work quite the way I hoped it might. In most cases I have varying trims for the lx pipes and since bounce point works by setting a different beam plane it is not much use for delivering paper work with instrument centres at a consistent height. I am trying to either set the focus from the floor or a consistent trim height on an empty stage as many opera companies do during their daily changeovers. I could of course individually set the beam plane on each pipe to get this number. Would it not be better to provide an option to lock the focus of each instrument on a pipe, retrim it to 6 meters or 2 meters and print out the results? This would also allow for multiple trims on a pipe - something I have done from time to time.

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 9:55 pm
by admin
LXBeams 2.0 added 3D offsets to account for things like different yoke lengths and overhung units. Bounce points were being calculated from the location of the light rather than the height of its position. Which was the same thing in prior versions without offsets. The latest build corrects this.

It was probably not a good idea to have two different uses for the beam plane distance. So, the latest build has a separate "Bounce Distance".

The latest build also has two new preference options for calculating bounce points. The first allows you to use the default z offset for the fixture instead of the individual z offset. This means that the individual z offset can be used as intended to reflect an alternate trim height. However, using this option means that all yoke distances and hanging styles would need to be the same. If hanging styles vary and there's an alternate trim, it probably requires two positions to represent the two trims or to separate the under/over hung units.

The other new preference allows the bounce point to reflect the y value relative to the location of the light which means that it can be read as up/down stage of the pipe rather than a distance from plaster/edge of the stage.

Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 3:04 am
by lanternz
Thanks. I have sent the paperwork through to the opera lighting crew and we are going to try the focus on an empty stage before the load in. I will let you know how it goes. I am assuming the bounce distance is calculated from the deck?

I can't see how to get the spot/flood info into any report. Help please.

Is it possible to create a report for a single position? I can't work out how to do that in the report editor.

Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 3:55 am
by admin
The Data Fields sheet has a column with a checkbox labeled "Rpt". Only those fields that are checked will appear in the "Add Column" list. The list was getting too long. So, some things including the spot/flood are off by default.

The data fields setup is saved with the plot but you can export and import the settings. BTW data fields also let you rearrange where (or if) fields appear in the Inspector's Info tab using the category column.

There is no report that only shows a single position. If you want part of a report, you can always copy and paste into Numbers or Excel. You'll want to be sure that the format preference is set to tabs, not commas and the report columns should go right into the spreadsheet. Or, you can create a styled text field and paste the tab delimited text onto a plot (begin editing the styled text area and press cmd-R to get a ruler to arrange the tabs).

Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 4:41 am
by lanternz
Great - thanks. Any way to reduce the accuracy of the spot/flood measurment. Currently to 5 decimal places and I don't think I have any lights that are that accurate.

Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:29 pm
by admin
Build 5504 rounds the spot/flood value

Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:50 pm
by admin
1.9.15 (5505) adds an option to light list reports that only displays those lights matching a given value. The setting is found in the Report Options sheet.