Selecting channels with thru, changing syntax?

Hi Mike,

What console are you using that implements that syntax?

It seems like you would need to tell the console how to logically associate the channels it selects with the range you want.  How would it know that you wanted to select 1 thru 4 instead of 1 thru 3 or 1 thru 26?

-Todd

tdrga said:

It seems like you would need to tell the console how to logically associate the channels it selects with the range you want.  How would it know that you wanted to select 1 thru 4 instead of 1 thru 3 or 1 thru 26?

I think the logical thing would be to go until you hit an un-patched channel.  However, I think using groups is really the easiest thing.  For channels 1 thru 12, I would create group 1.  For channels 21 through 26 I create group 21.  Et cetera...

-Steve

tdrga said:

It seems like you would need to tell the console how to logically associate the channels it selects with the range you want.  How would it know that you wanted to select 1 thru 4 instead of 1 thru 3 or 1 thru 26?

I think the logical thing would be to go until you hit an un-patched channel.  However, I think using groups is really the easiest thing.  For channels 1 thru 12, I would create group 1.  For channels 21 through 26 I create group 21.  Et cetera...

-Steve

martinsa said:

I think the logical thing would be to go until you hit an un-patched channel.

I think a non-existent (i.e. deleted) channel would be a better delimiter, as there are many times you might want to give an un-patched channel a level.

martinsa said:

However, I think using groups is really the easiest thing.  For channels 1 thru 12, I would create group 1.  For channels 21 through 26 I create group 21.  Et cetera...

-Steve

Agreed that groups make more sense.  The syntax chan ## [thru] [group] ## seems like it would work, but that may be more keystrokes than just typing the ending channel number.

edit: however, non-sequential or randomly ordered groups would pose a challenge to sort out.

-Todd

The best way for me to base the selection upon would be to have the console select the range until the next unpatched channel.

This syntax is common on Hog3 consoles, which I use a lot. I patch only desk channels which I am actually going to use, so it helps me during programming to quickly make selections based on remembering only the first channel number. For instance "1 thru <enter>" would always select all of my front lights and "251 thru <enter>" would always select all of my MAC250 fixtures. Does this make sense to you? I have always found it to be a selection syntax which saves me loads of time.

Making groups with the start fixture number would not be the same thing for me. When my designer will say to me: give me the last 6 MAC250 fixtures (and I have patched 12 of those, starting from desk channel 251), I wouldn't want to make this a group. A simple selection "257 thru <enter>" would be my preferred syntax without having to remember the last channel number in the range of MAC250's (in this example it would be channel 262).

Again: does this make sense to you?

Thanks for helping out.