I've just completed the second lighting plot I've created using LXBeams. This one went extremely well and I'm becoming more comfortable with the way the program works (and with my Mac).
I'm still doing "workarounds" for issues which either don't have functions or I haven't discovered the functions.
For example; I'm using moving light symbols for the wrong fixture because there is no symbol for it. I'm using a Robin 600 moving light symbol for my Robe 250 AT Spots. In my "use" column I put in "Robe 250AT Spot" but in the fixture counts and instrument schedules it still lists as a Robin 600. I'm sure there is a way to edit the symbol library, I just haven't had the time to do it. If there were a place where I could change the name of the Robin 600 to Robe 250AT in reports that would be a good workaround. As it is, I'm exporting the reports to Excel and changing them manually.
My speed really increased on this second plot and I'm learning more features as I go (fixture renumbering for example).
Another LXBeam Success
In LXBeams the properties of any symbol can be edited by double-clicking the symbol in the Inspector's symbol palette. Or, you can also select the symbol and choose "Entry Info" from the Setup menu or the popup menu on the right side of the Inspector's symbol tab.
You might want to use the popup menu from the symbol tab to duplicate the entry for Robin 600. (You do that by selecting the Robin 600 symbol and choosing "Duplicate Entry".) When you duplicate an entry, the properties sheet will drop down and you can change the name to Robe 250.
The problem with this is that you then have two symbols that represent different lights. The latest build of LXBeams has a little popup that tells you what a symbol represents if you hover the mouse over it. That way you would be able to choose Robin 600 or Robe 250 even though the symbol is the same. There are some entries in the key libraries that use the same symbol for different DMX configurations of moving lights. It is always possible to use the Setup->Remove unused entries command to get rid of any entries in the key that you are not using. (You can always get them back if you re-load the library).
Another possible way of distinguishing is to use the "default mark" property of a key entry. What this does is to fill in the "mark" field in every light's info when it is drawn. So, for example, you might set the default mark to "250" which will then draw that text inside every symbol of that type that you draw.
The final way of distinguishing a duplicate entry is to edit the symbol. You can do this from the popup menu in the key entry properties sheet. Editing a symbol is somewhat like editing a font and can be done very precisely. When you edit a symbol, it does not change the symbol for other key entries. Instead, a copy is stored with that key entry.
You might want to use the popup menu from the symbol tab to duplicate the entry for Robin 600. (You do that by selecting the Robin 600 symbol and choosing "Duplicate Entry".) When you duplicate an entry, the properties sheet will drop down and you can change the name to Robe 250.
The problem with this is that you then have two symbols that represent different lights. The latest build of LXBeams has a little popup that tells you what a symbol represents if you hover the mouse over it. That way you would be able to choose Robin 600 or Robe 250 even though the symbol is the same. There are some entries in the key libraries that use the same symbol for different DMX configurations of moving lights. It is always possible to use the Setup->Remove unused entries command to get rid of any entries in the key that you are not using. (You can always get them back if you re-load the library).
Another possible way of distinguishing is to use the "default mark" property of a key entry. What this does is to fill in the "mark" field in every light's info when it is drawn. So, for example, you might set the default mark to "250" which will then draw that text inside every symbol of that type that you draw.
The final way of distinguishing a duplicate entry is to edit the symbol. You can do this from the popup menu in the key entry properties sheet. Editing a symbol is somewhat like editing a font and can be done very precisely. When you edit a symbol, it does not change the symbol for other key entries. Instead, a copy is stored with that key entry.