Posts by cadcoke5

Since my effort to run PowerPoint from DMXControl, or to run DMXControl from PowerPoint have failed, I am considering other options.

Perhaps there would be a 3rd party program that will accept any keystroke, and then send a different keystroke to other multiple programs. I suppose this might be called a macro or shortcut editor program.

The idea is that I can use my PowerPoint remote control, and this software would receive the "next slide" keystroke. Then it would send the "next slide" keystroke to PowerPoint and a "next cue" keystroke to DMXControl.

If there are no existing programs, I have programmed in Visual Basic in the past. Does anyone recommend me trying to do it myself this way? I would be concerned about performance problems, since Visual Basic is not a quickly performing language. Also, I am not sure if it can run hidden, and also send keystrokes to DMXControl while keeping it hidden. I need PowerPoint to stay on top with its slide show running full screen. I have programmed in machine language on the Atari 8-bit, but that was MANY years ago. I have no clue how one would go about grabbing focus of programs in Windows low-level languages to send them keystrokes.

Any further suggestions?

Joe Dunfee

Just an update on my efforts. I have been talking to others in our local puppet guild, and several are interested in the idea of using the computer to run both lights and sound cues. However, I have been unsuccessful with DMXcontrol in this idea, so perhaps it is a dead end.

I did do some additional research using the Open Office equivalent to Power Point, called Impress. It will play MIDI files embedded in a slide, but as with all other MIDI players I test, I cannot see any MIDI input using MIDI-OX. I don't know if these programs will generate the MIDI data in such a way that DMXcontrol can see it. It could still be my own inability to properly use MIDI-OX.

Joe Dunfee

On a lighting deck, the "Go" button is what tells the console to start the next cue that was stored in memory. I.e. "Go to the next cue".

Yes, it was the "Channel" setting that was missing. If I set my keyboard window to;

Control | Module |Device/Function | Channel | Flags | Value
Key 'G' | Disabled |Next | GO! |-,-,-,- | -

Argg.... it seems that the message board ignores multiple spaces, so I can't format the table above to line up.

Pressing "G" on my keyboard will cause the scene to jump to the next one. However, I am still puzzled about the settings. I would have thought the "next" and "GO!" meant the same thing. I have no idea what the flags or value fields are. I also cannot figure out what to set to make it go back one scene.

I was successful in getting the blackout key on my PowerPoint Remote [which generates a "."] to trigger the next scene.

Joe Dunfee

Thank you for the Keyboard activation window hint. I was not using it. However, I still can't use the keyboard to advance scenes. Attached are screen shots of the pertinent windows. Note that I have tried every possible combination of the check marks in the Keyboard activation windows. I have also tried capital and lower-case G.

I don't recall reading this, but I believe you must press the green triangle button in the scene list before you can start to advance scenes using the "Go" button below it. I tried it without, just in case that was somehow necessary, but there was no difference in behavior using the keyboard.

Also, for future versions, I do recommend that your keyboard and MIDI settings window have a statement like, "Close this window and open the Keyboard Control Window to use keyboard."

As always, thank you very much for your help,

Joe Dunfee

I have done more research, but I a still uncertain of certain things. My remote control also has buttons labeled [F5/Esc] and [Blackout]. When I open a word processor and press these buttons on my remote, the first button opens the Find and Replace, which means it is getting the F5 key. The one labeled [Blackout] creates a period.

I went to DMXControl to see if I could setup these buttons to work. I changed the F5 to "Scene list" and "Next". The "." was set to go back one scene.

I did leave the keyboard remote window open, but could not change scenes. The [Blackout] button had no effect, and the [F5/Esc] button would not do anything the first press, but on the 2nd press, the Keyboard Remote window would close!

Still puzzled.

Joe Dunfee
[Edit - I also tried to use the physical keyboard without results. Even the default keys don't work, such as the "G" to go to the next scene.]

Please forgive me if I am somehow not seeing it, but I cannot find the PgUp or PgDN in the keyboard remote window list.

Joe Dunfee

If you have been following my posts, I am attempting to remote-control DMXControl using a standard PowerPoint type remote control. These send page-up and page-down commands to control a PowerPoint slide show. I imagine other users of DMXControl would like this feature.

You have mentioned and expansion of the keyboard control in the next version, but this current version is the one that can do all the multi-media stuff. There are programs for the Android platform that allow you to send keystrokes to you Windows machine, but having physical buttons to press is helpful because you can just reach into your pocket to grab the remote and trigger the next scene.

I imagine this particular change would not be difficult. Simply add page-up and page-down as the keystrokes used to change the scene. I would say to replace the "G" and backspace strokes, but that would mess up the people who are already used to those keystrokes.

Joe Dunfee

I am a complete novice with DMXControl, so my comment here is really just a guess. There are two places these settings might be stored.

One is the program directory itself. So, it may be possible to just copy the entire DMXControl program directory from your 1st computer, and copy the same file on the 2nd computer. The risk is that you may also be settings on the 2nd computer which are unique to that computer. E.g. the serial port for the DMX output device may be different. Please be sure to make a backup of the DMXControl directory on the 2nd computer by renaming it to something like "OLDDMXControl" before you copy the version from the 1st computer.

A second possibility is that the data is stored in your user directory in windows, where there might be some sort of program settings directory. But, I don't see anything like that in mine. If there were, I would say to copy that.

Let me emphasize that both these ideas are just guesses. Your question really is one that will take one of the programmers to answer.

I wish there were more people here who were familiar with the program to answer some of the less technical questions. It is not like we are paying for a program, and providing enough money for them to pay staff to handle our technical questions. So, if anyone with anl understanding of the program sees a question they can answer, please make the effort to do so. This helps the programmers to be free to do their work, rather than answering basic questions.

Joe Dunfee

I have purchased a cheap USB-to-MIDI adapter. It does show up as a MIDI in/out device in MIDI-OX. However, the activity lights do not show anything when playing a Power Point embedded MIDI file nor do they when I play MIDI using the MIDI-Bar program that came with MIDI-OX. That last failure surprised me. I would think that MIDI-Bar would successfully send MIDI out the MIDI interface. It is apparent that, in this last issue, it is probably a matter of fully understanding all the settings for MIDI-OX. But, I don't think that it is worth my effort to spend more hours trying to get MIDI-OX to work, because I need MS Media player to do it.

I also found some commentary about choosing the MIDI player that MS Media Player chooses by default. Vista was the first version of Windows that had this limitation. But, the directions I found were specifically for editing the registry to redirect the MIDI to a Creative Labs sound card synth. I found a few utilities that would modify the registry to redirect MIDI more generally, but these programs were not to be found on the large, and respected, download sites. I was hesitant to trust such a program from a site I am not familiar with.

So, the VBA seems to be the only choice at this time. I realize that some of you have alternative approaches, but it seems that each of them have their own complexities. The VBA in Power Point really does seem to be the simplest solution.... but perhaps I speak too soon. I will let you know if it actually works.

[edit - if I have to mess with VBA anyway, then perhaps I could just directly control DMXControl. I saw another brief post about using Network Terminal to do it like the PDA interface. But I don't see anything about this in the English manual]

Thank you all for your time,
Joe Dunfee

Perhaps I am getting stuck with the MIDI mapping or something like that. It has been many years since I dabbled in MIDI, and even then, I really didn't get into the configuration stuff. I suspect that Windows is somehow routing my MIDI messages from Power Point to the Windows Media Player, so that DMXControl is not getting them at all. If I embed an actual musical MIDI file in the PowerPoint, it comes out the audio fine. I've read that Windows Vista didn't include the MIDI mapper that was included with earlier versions of Windows. Another message I found on a forum somewhere showed where to do this in the Device Manger. But, my sound device manager area didn't show the MIDI related listings the poster did. I imagine he had a computer with a physical MIDI port, and I don't.

I have spent the last few hours with MIDI-OX. But, I can't get it to show anything. The only MIDI input devices are the MIDI Yoke ones. If I play a musical MIDI using the player that comes with MIDI-OX, it plays, but again nothing shows on the MIDI-OX screen.

I can play a musical MIDI file in Power Point, but, I can't see any activity in MIDI-OX.

So, I am pretty sure that DMXControl is not getting the MIDI data at all. But, I am lost about how to fix it.

Joe Dunfee

As usual, your help is greatly appreciated.

I have done some Visual Basic programming, so that is one possible solution. But, since I would first have to learn about MidiOX, I will first attempt to use the MIDI file provided by Dennis.

My understanding is that I first need to;
1) Install MIDI Yoke to allow an internal MIDI signal to be visible by windows.
2) Set up DMXControl to see the MIDI note trigger.

Then, by simply having Power Point play that MIDI file, it would trigger DMXControl to go to the next scene. I have read the English PDF help file about MIDI control. I think I have every thing set up, but it is not working. The MIDI Remote window does not seem to show any MIDI data being received. Attached is a screen shot of my DMX Control windows.

Thank You,
Joe Dunfee

I am trying to use DMX Control to run lights for a one-man show. Specifically it will be myself performing with marionette in front of a video projection screen. I will trigger each segment of lights or sound/video by using a remote control in my pocket.

One approach I had considered I have considered other approaches, including using DMX Control to run audio cues, and then to trigger the video using Beamer, but the remote control will not work with the DMXControl v.2 software. A keyboard remapping program was suggested to allow the remote to work, but then I got lost on telling DMXControl how to respond to keyboard presses. The lack of an English manual is probably the barrier for me.

So, I think I will to a different way and use Power Point as the software that controls everything else. Power Point will provide the sound and video, and to trigger the lighting I think I can embed a MIDI file, which will trigger DMXControl. However, this is where I am getting lost.

I can't figure out how to create a MIDI file to send the correct codes to DMXControl. I have some MIDI note editing software, and they have some means to create a control code, but again, I get lost with the specifics.

I imagine I only need to send a few numbers via MIDI. Perhaps it can be as simple as creating the file using a text editor, and saving it as a .mid file. But, I am completely guessing here.

Has anyone attempted this? Can any suggest how I should proceed?

Joe Dunfee

Well, it seems that a large percentage of the dialog on this thread is just me. Well, some of the information has been vial private e-mail, but I want to make sure that anyone reading the thread here was up to speed.

Regarding the direction orientation, I was unaware that you could invert orientation when you configure a device when you insert it into DMX Control. That solved the problem.

I have edited my post to remove my upload, since it is not the best choice right now. The folks at dmxcontrol have their own updated version. Note that the Chauvet MiN Spot is also sold under other labels, normally referred to as a "Mini Spot LED Moving Head".

Joe Dunfee

OK, I am learning here. It was not your DDF. Rather, it was my limited understanding of how they integrate. For, example the RGB Sliders work, only if the Color macro button is off. The color macro pull-down only work if the "macro" button is on. I have most of the controls working now.

Also, regarding position direction. I still don't know what is going on. Perhaps the fact that the head can flip upside down, and that it can spin 520 degrees has me confused.

Joe Dunfee

(PS.attached is what I have so far. Note that I have repositioned the controls, to try to make it more apparent what button overrides another. Also, I've added a better picture. It is called Chauvet Min Spot-Joe.zip)

[EDIT - I've removed the outdated DDF attachment. A better version is on the DDF download site - Joe]

[edit... see the next message, because I negated most of what I said here- Joe]

I should have been more specific. I can insert the Chauvet Min Scan into my light layout. It partially works. For example, the position controls will successfully move the light around. However, the other controls don't work the way that they should. They seem to have the incorrect channels assigned to them.

Opening the DDF in DDF Creator, I checked the Channel numbers, and they are described correctly (though I don't understand the functions of each field) Then next I looked at the properties of the controls. The controls which would show me properties did not have channels assigned to them. So, I simply assigned the channel number, and that was a partial fix.

The position controls work, but they are backwards. The only other controls that work are the RGB sliders, and the Gobo select. Nothing else worked.

In DDF Creator, to try to fix the directions of the position control I tried changing the value in the Channel List for channels 0 to 3 to give a range of 255-0 instead of 0-255, but this change seemed to have no effect after exiting and reopening DMX Control.

I could not do anything with the position control, as I mentioned in my prior message. Also, the radio buttons would not open a property box, so I could not edit them. Also, the color macro pull-down controls aren't working.

Was it all working for you? Could you have send me a version that was still in process, while you have a more current working version inside the DMX Control Devices directory?

Joe Dunfee

Thank you Matze. However, the DDF is not working properly for me. Is it for the 13 channel setup of the machine or the 5 channel?

Joe Dunfee

I do want to continue to try to learn to use the DDF Creator. Now that I can load DDF files, I can start to test out my efforts. But, there is one thing I am having ongoing problems over. The position control will only give me its location and size properties. Once or twice, for some reason it gave me more properties, but I can't figure out why those times it gave me more. I have tried right clicking many different locations on the image, but without results.

Joe Dunfee

Thank you Matze. While I may have some limited success, there are complexities to this fixture that are not in the typical fixture. I doubt a beginner like me will be able to get it all working.

I couldn't PM you, since you were unregistered. I don' t mind publicly posting my E-mail, but it will have to be "munged" a bit to hide it from spammer-bots.

Take out all the spaces and //;
cad coke 5 //at// yahoo. com

Joe Dunfee

I have been totally unsuccessful in attempting to create any type of DDF file. I think I may have at least part of one created, but then when I save it, it only creates a ZIP file, and it will not show up in the DMX Control program.

As I read the English manuals, I see a lot of XML. I had thought that the DDF Creator would mean that I didn't have to edit XML directly. But, I am now thinking that this is not correct. Do, I need to directly edit XML to create a DDF?

Joe Dunfee

I just purchased a Chauvet MinSpot, which is a moving-head LED fixture. It is similar to the AmericanDJ X-move. However, the MinSpot does not have a color wheel, but rather it has an RGB LED.

I am attempting to make a DDF, but am running into problems. The "dimmer" channel has multiple functions.
Note that channel 6 functions like a mechanical douser(shutter), even though it is all electronic dimming. Also, since the dimmers for channels 7,8,9 control color, they also function to control the overall brightness. I.e. if 7,8,9 are all 0 it is black, and if 7,8,9 are at 255, it is white.

Ch# | Value | Function
6 | 000-007 | Closed
6 | 008-134 | 100-0%
6 | 135-239 | Strobe (slow → fast)
6 | 240-255 | Open
7 | 000-255 | Red 0-100%
8 | 000-255 | Green 0-100%
9 | 000-255 | Blue 0-100%

In the DDF editor channel properties, I attempted to add more to the list, just repeating some of the channel numbers, but limiting the values to what they need to be for the particular item they are controlling.

I am also at a loss about how to even approach the overall dim, vs. the individual colors dimming. I don't even know how the machine deals with it, since they seem to overlap.

I am sure that the DDF editor in German is being translated into English. If it even partially done, I would love to see it.

Joe Dunfee