Plotting

You can build any show you like in the Congo Offline Editor, or in the console regardless of whether the fixtures really exist*, and just load the show at the venue.

You can also Import some Presets from one show to another - this relies on the basic data being the same, eg using the same device templates on the each of the desk Channels etc.

Only the desk Channels matter, you can change the DMX patch at any time.

Patch is just a mapping between Desk Channels and the DMX addresses you happen to be using that day - you need to have a patch, but it doesn't matter if you change it later.

When a show is touring the dimmers are rarely at the same addresses in two venues so they are always changing this around.

This is extremely common, perhaps also using Visualisation (eg Capture Polar) to simulate what the real lights will look like on a computer.

* Without RDM the console has no way of knowing whether the light exists, so it really cannot possibly care either way.

You can build any show you like in the Congo Offline Editor, or in the console regardless of whether the fixtures really exist*, and just load the show at the venue.

You can also Import some Presets from one show to another - this relies on the basic data being the same, eg using the same device templates on the each of the desk Channels etc.

Only the desk Channels matter, you can change the DMX patch at any time.

Patch is just a mapping between Desk Channels and the DMX addresses you happen to be using that day - you need to have a patch, but it doesn't matter if you change it later.

When a show is touring the dimmers are rarely at the same addresses in two venues so they are always changing this around.

This is extremely common, perhaps also using Visualisation (eg Capture Polar) to simulate what the real lights will look like on a computer.

* Without RDM the console has no way of knowing whether the light exists, so it really cannot possibly care either way.

Hi Richard

Thanks for getting back to me, Iv just tried this this morning and it works great but there is a big BUT. 

Can i ask if i'm up to cue/preset 70 lets say in my show and i want to import cue's/preset's from another show in my show file how would i change it so the ones iv imported start at and carry on from the next cue/preset in my main playback i.e 71?.

I noticed it does import to the next number i.e 71 which is my next cue/preset, but you then have in the main playback screen cue/preset 1-70 is fine then the next cue/preset is 1 which was saved like that in the play i imported it from, now the step is 71 but the cue/preset number 1. I understand the logic but if i want to go to that selected cue/preset it will become tricky.

I hope this makes sense and I'm proberly asking for something impossible to happen.

Lets us know your thoughts

In v6.2.1 there is an option of "Preset Offset" in the Import dialog, so you can add a number to the imported Presets.

Eg importing Presets 1 thru 5 using Preset Offset "10.0" will import them as 11 thru 15.

(Also, Watch this space...)

Hi Richard

That's brilliant, many thanks indeed