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Default FAL template

Discussion in 'wysiwyg' started by Numberwrong, Sep 21, 2018.

  1. Numberwrong

    Numberwrong Member

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    Is there a way of making my custom FAL template the default one so I don't have to go in to the FAL attributes layout and change each fixture manually?
     
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  2. roygbiv

    roygbiv Active Member

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    You can create your own template file in .WYT format. I have one with my costumized needs for FAL, prints layouts, fixture and truss shortcuts, shaded view settings and so on :)
     
  3. Floriaan

    Floriaan Well-Known Member

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    It would be nice though to have this FAL template be assigned to every new fixture you add to your plot by default.
     
  4. Numberwrong

    Numberwrong Member

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    What happens if I delete all the FAL templates but my own ( I only have 2, one for automated one for generics)

    It says if I delete a template it will delete it form the application completely. I don't want to try this if it's going to cause issues.
     
  5. Dany

    Dany Administrator
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    While something like this can definitely be done with .WYT files as roygbiv mentioned, it is far better to edit/create FAL Templates using the FAL Template Manager (found in the MANAGERS menu when a file is loaded, or in the OPTIONS menu while on the Welcome Screen). Its use is fully-described in the Using the FAL template manager section of the WYSIWYG Reference Guide, so there is no reason for me to go into details here.

    To learn how to apply a FAL Template to fixtures such that "from now on" they always insert with that FAL, read through the To change the label layout at the application level section of the Guide; that description pertains to manually modifying the FAL, but the same method is used to apply a FAL Template. As noted therein, once you do this, every time you insert those fixtures into new files, and only into new files, they will appear as per the FAL (Template) that you defined (or assigned). (They can only be used in new files because ALL fixtures in existing files, regardless of whether they were inserted or not, have their FALs defined by "what was defined for them at the Application level at the time the file was created". This has always worked like this--and these features have been available in WYSIWYG since version 3.5, back in 1998--and there are no plans to modify this behavior.)

    You may share FAL Templates that you created, or save them for backup purposes or in order to use them in future WYSIWYG installations, by exporting them to a .WUD (WYSIWYG User Data) file. The same can be done with FALs that you modified for fixtures at the Application level. (To learn about using .WUD files, please consult the WYSIWYG User Data Profile section of the Reference Guide.)

    In answer to the last question above, there is nothing wrong with deleting FAL Templates; the warning you are referring to simply warns you that once deleted, it cannot be retrieved--because FAL Templates "live" at the Application Level. (They are accessible and modifiable "from within a file" merely for convenience: it would break workflow if you had to close your file every time you needed to modify a FAL Template or create a new one; aside from this, if FAL Templates weren't accessible from within a file, you couldn't turn a FAL that you created for a fixture in that file, into a FAL Template.)


    Please let me know if there are any other questions I can answer with regards to all this,

    Dany
     
  6. Floriaan

    Floriaan Well-Known Member

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    Do I understand correctly that it is still necessary to either change each fixture separately at application level (which is a lot of work and needs to be done for each new fixture added to the library) or apply a FAL to each new fixture you insert into your plot?
    In that case, the question wasn’t clear. It would be great to auto-apply a FAL to each new fixture that is inserted into a plot. This should then be possible to do with the build-in FAL’s or the ones that you build yourself.
     
  7. Numberwrong

    Numberwrong Member

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    I've had a quick look on Wyg, based on Dany's reply, it looks like you have to change each fixture manually which is obviously a non starter. (unless I've got this wrong?)

    How is it possible to do what I want in a Template? (I do use a base template for most of my files)

    I asked this question originally as on some jobs the fixture types can stack up quickly. With a wide array of generics, moving lights and LED pars/battens there can easily be 20+ fixture types. It's a bit tedious to go in to FAL attributes layouts and change them all, especially as different views (plan, side view etc) also need to be changed.

    If a fixture is swapped for another type later you then have to go back in and change it again.

    I just thought the 'default' FAL could be changed, even it it was a bit of a hack like deleting all the others

    It's not necessarily that time consuming, but it is certainly tedious and can interrupt work flow.

    Thanks
     
  8. Dany

    Dany Administrator
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    Hey Floriaan,

    FALs and FAL Templates need to be applied individually per fixture, even at the Application Level, in order for them to take effect. However, I see where you are going with the idea of "applying them automatically" and this makes sense--at least to a point. Creating an option to simply (or, rather, blindly) apply a FAL Template to all fixtures in the library automatically would not serve much of a purpose, because different fixture types require different FALs: for example, the FAL for a mover is quite different than the FAL for a conventional multi-cell cyc fixture. That said, I believe it should be possible to add a feature whereby WYSIWYG asks which FAL Template (if any) should be applied to a fixture and all fixtures like it the first time that fixture is inserted; similarly, an "Apply FAL Template" option could be added to the Library Browser's right-click menu, so all the user has do is right-click on a fixture in the library and assign a FAL Template to it via a submenu which lists all the FAL Templates in the file; and, of course, both should be possible as well. Let me think this over and see if we can make this little improvement in R42.


    Thanks!

    Dany
     
  9. Dany

    Dany Administrator
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    I understand, Numberwrong, but, aside from what I proposed for an improvement in my reply to Floriaan, I do believe this is the only option for the time being, given WYSIWYG's current architecture and the way this feature was conceptualized from the beginning. (Yes, it can be changed, but changing "core" features like this requires a very large amount of development time, and many other new features or improvements would have to be scrapped in order to add it to a release. In some cases, such changes are worthwhile or even necessary, but in others they are simply not so.)

    Cheers,

    Dany
     
  10. Floriaan

    Floriaan Well-Known Member

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    This is quite high on my list. The reason why, it that the default FAL (that is what you get when you do nothing when you insert a fixture) delivers a very poorly designed layout. The problems are
    - not readable on smaller prints (anything smaller then A2, which is very big while focusing)
    - not standard USITT
    - not well designed in terms of esthetics.

    So if it is easier to improve the default layout from your side, maybe this is the place to talk about how this standard layout could be improved.
     
  11. Floriaan

    Floriaan Well-Known Member

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    Like this for example, with larger channel or spot numbers that have a red circle around them and larger gelnumbers. 22664D82-CEA4-40CD-94B7-20ED62FA3E02.jpeg
     
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  12. Dany

    Dany Administrator
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    I've thought about it some more since last night, and just added an improvement request to address all this, not only with the options I described yesterday, but with a third, which would allow the selection of multiple fixtures from a "new type" of Library Browser in order to apply a FAL Template. This might be a larger work package than we can fit into the R42 development schedule though, in which case, it may have to be postponed until at least R43.


    Thanks,

    Dany
     
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  13. Floriaan

    Floriaan Well-Known Member

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    How far are you with this implementation? I tried to explain the members of my team the necessary steps to have a readable consistent look on a plot. Applying a FAL template to every kind of fixture in the plot seemed tedious to them and we all thought this one step we would like to skip.
    Again I would like to press you to ask a graphic designer to have a look at all the elements in the PRES section, for them to look like they were NOT designed in the early 1990's. ;)
     
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  14. Dany

    Dany Administrator
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    Sorry Floriaan, but there has been no movement on this. I hate to "play the COVID card", but in this case, COVID was indeed the reason. A complete revamp of PRES mode was planned for R46 (as I mentioned elsewhere). Then COVID hit and we were forced to shut down almost completely as you know, as we announced. Then, as a result of COVID, we were forced (again) to prioritize other features -- both ones that we could work on under the circumstances and ones that were needed for these circumstances. I am not making excuses, but simply being candid and telling you the truth, which I hope you appreciate. Keeping in line with that, I will also tell you that I do not see the aforementioned PRES mode revamp project moving forward before the second half of 2021 at the earliest. ... Which is in line with what COVID did to the world: set it back by a year.

    We do what we can. I hope you understand.


    Thank you,

    Dany
     
  15. Floriaan

    Floriaan Well-Known Member

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    Hi,

    Thanks for the explanation. I guess priority is to keep our heads above the water now.
     

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