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    jonahaz
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Suggestion for Magic Sheets - Lockable objects

Hey Everybody, 

My first post here.  In working with magic sheets which are awesome I've noticed a small feature that could be added in terms of layout.  I tend to draw boxes and truss for various layouts and place objects on top of them.  These boxes or truss act as an organizational framework for my work space.  Often these items remain where I place them permanently and rarely need to be moved once they are where I like them.  The problem is that as I lay other objects on top of them, channel buttons, fixtures, and such I inadvertently click on this boxes or truss and move them or select them.  This tends to slow down the process enough to be mildly frustrating.  Perhaps I need to change my approach.  The joy of magic sheets to me is the ability to place objects quickly and organize the work space in a very efficient manner.  Having the ability to lock items in place would eliminate the need to carefully dance around objects you don't want to select or modify.  I believe the best workaround at this point is to hold down the ctrl key and click to deselect the item.    Thoughts?  

Equipment: ETC Ion

Software Version: 2.3

USA

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  • Have you tried sending the truss items to the Bottom? I found that using the pipe tool to draw lines and squares worked better than the line tool/poly line tool as any area enclosed by a line tool or square was activated when selected. I did a basic set floor plan using the pipe tool and then grouped the whole thing and sent it to the bottom of the magic sheet and then started placing the fixtures on top of that. I can still select the set but it takes a very precise touch and as it is tied to no action it doesn't really impact work flow. I do need to pay attention when editing the magic sheet but it seems to be the best workaround until the implementation of lockable layers.
  • in reply to MWeeks728
    Another option is to layout the structure as it's own magic sheet. Save it as an image then make it the background for any other magic sheet. It's not as nice as having a feature like layers though.
  • in reply to sk8rs_dad

    How often is your venue changing over? We are not a road house at all so I have the luxury of making sure I always have a plot and ground plan but If you have either of those, especially one that just has a truss/pipe lay out, you could import that as a .jpeg and use it as your magic sheet background, very similar to what sk8rs_dad said. It will never select and always reflect your positions based on the current plot. I like it because it zooms when I zoom the magic sheet so now I can make sub sheets of specific systems and have them to scale with the ground plan.

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  • in reply to sk8rs_dad

    How often is your venue changing over? We are not a road house at all so I have the luxury of making sure I always have a plot and ground plan but If you have either of those, especially one that just has a truss/pipe lay out, you could import that as a .jpeg and use it as your magic sheet background, very similar to what sk8rs_dad said. It will never select and always reflect your positions based on the current plot. I like it because it zooms when I zoom the magic sheet so now I can make sub sheets of specific systems and have them to scale with the ground plan.

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