Input Settings

An input is where a button, foot mat, door switch, or other sensor connects to your controller. Give it a useful name, check that Studio sees it activate, then choose what should happen when it does.

For a typical normally open button or sensor, start with Normally closed off and Cooldown at 0. You only need to change those settings if your sensor works the other way around or you want to ignore repeated presses.

This guide covers the physical sensor inputs on the Input 16, Output 8 MKII, LED Controller, and IgorBox DMX. The front button has its own Front Button Modes.

Find and name your input

Wire the sensor using your controller's guide: Input 16, Output 8 MKII, LED Controller, or IgorBox DMX. Each guide explains which terminals to use and the voltage limits.

1. Open the controller in IgorBox Studio and select Configuration.
2. Expand the channel settings and find the connected input under Inputs.
3. Enter a Name that describes the sensor, such as Coffin button, Hallway mat, or Exit door.
4. Save the configuration.

Use names your team will recognize when choosing inputs for shows and rules.

Watch a sensor without taking control

Open the controller's Overview tab and watch its input rows under Channel States (or Watch inputs, where shown). You do not need to start Manual Control. The sensor continues running its connected shows and rules while you watch.

Use TRIGGERED and IDLE to check whether Studio sees the sensor as active or at rest. Cooling down means extra activations are temporarily ignored. For wiring checks, the optional Electrical level readout shows whether the incoming signal is high or low, before the Normally closed setting changes its meaning. A changing indicator during cooldown does not mean another show fired.

Choose what the sensor runs

Naming an input does not give it an action. Connect it to a Trigger for a simple “press the button, play the show” setup. Use a Logic Rule when the scene needs a combination of sensors, a delay, or a puzzle sequence.

Choose On to respond when the sensor activates, Off when it clears, or Both for either change. A normally open button usually uses On to start its show when pressed.

The show or rule can run on the sensor's controller or another controller on the same local network. Deploy the show or rule before testing the scene.

Adjust settings when needed

Setting	Start with	When to change it
Normally closed	Off for a normally open sensor	Your sensor's contacts open when it activates.
Cooldown	0 seconds	One press should work right away, but extra presses should be ignored for a while.

New settings in firmware 2.2.2

Normally closed and Cooldown need firmware 2.2.2. Studio only offers these controls when the controller supports them. Naming and watching inputs do not require these new controls.

Normally closed sensors

A normally open button connects its two switch contacts when pressed. A normally closed sensor does the opposite: the contacts are connected at rest and separate when activated. Some door switches and break beams work this way. Check the sensor’s instructions to find which type you have.

Leave Normally closed off for a normally open sensor. If your sensor is normally closed, turn the setting on for that input in Configuration and save. Wait for every affected controller to finish updating, then check the sensor at rest and activated on Overview.

With Normally closed enabled, separated contacts mean TRIGGERED, and connected contacts mean IDLE. The input's indicator lights and the state used by Triggers and Logic Rules follow that same meaning. Outside cooldown, the front light is dark at rest and lights when the sensor activates; the rear connector changes from faint to bright purple.

This changes how the controller reads the input. It does not change its wiring or voltage limits. Follow your controller's wiring guide when connecting the sensor.

Changing an input that already runs shows

You may already have a normally closed sensor working by putting its actions on Off, or by using the opposite state in a Logic Rule. Changing Normally closed automatically adjusts the existing trigger and rule connections so they keep responding at the same physical moment. Their On/Off or Active/Idle connections may change to preserve that behavior.

The update can affect rules and shows on other controllers too. If Studio says Input changes are still deploying, wait for those controllers to apply the change, then test the sensor before opening. Other rule edits you have not deployed stay unpublished.

Cooldown

Cooldown sets how long an input must wait before it can trigger again. For example, use it on a foot mat that guests might step on several times during one scare.

In Configuration, find the input and enter its Cooldown in seconds. 0 turns cooldown off; the maximum is 600 seconds (10 minutes). Save the configuration.

The first activation fires immediately and starts the cooldown. During that time:

• The indicator and Studio still show the sensor activating and clearing.
• Extra presses and their releases do not fire shows or rules on this controller or any other controller.
• Releasing the first press still takes effect right away.
• Ignored presses do not fire later when the cooldown ends.

While the sensor is idle during cooldown, its indicator lights slowly fade in and out in purple. If it activates again, the lights turn solid purple, but nothing fires. Once cooldown ends and the sensor is idle, the front light goes dark and the rear lights return to faint purple. Studio's Cooling down badge stays visible for the waiting time, even while the sensor is active.

For a five-second cooldown, a press at the start fires normally. A second press two seconds later is ignored. Even if that second press is still held after five seconds, it does not fire late. Release it and activate the sensor again after the cooldown to fire the next trigger.

Inputs used for locking

Cooldown is disabled for inputs set up to use Soft Lock or Hard Lock actions. Those inputs must always be able to respond; Studio shows Always responds. Cooldown is off.

Cooldown applies to the input, so it affects every show and rule listening to it. A trigger's Retrigger setting is different: it decides what to do when a show is already playing.

Test the whole scene

With everyone clear of the effects, press the button or activate the sensor and check that the intended show or rule runs. Release it and try again. If you set a cooldown, also check that a second press during the waiting time is ignored.

To test the connected actions from your browser, use Direct Trigger on supported controllers. It runs real effects without starting Manual Control. You should still test the physical sensor to check its wiring.

If the input changes in Studio but the scene does not respond, see Troubleshooting Triggers.