Manual Control
Manual Control is exactly what it sounds like: you grab the channels of a controller and drive them yourself, in real time, from your browser. Sliders, buttons, color pickers — every change you make hits the hardware right away.
It's the fastest way to verify wiring, debug a flaky sensor, troubleshoot a stuck show, or just demonstrate the system to someone walking by.
Starting manual control
From a controller's Overview tab, click Start Manual Control.
The controller's status LED blinks orange to indicate it's in manual control mode. Show playback is paused while you have control.
Driving channels
The manual control panel shows one row per channel:
- Switching outputs (Output 8 MKII relay and Multistate channels — either mode — and Input 16 relays) — a toggle button. Click to flip on/off.
- Dimmable outputs (LED Controller channels) — a slider, 0–100%.
- Channel indicators — drive the front-panel LED color directly, independent of any wired output.
Drag a slider — the load follows. Click a button — the relay clicks.
A channel that a Logic Rule is currently driving can't be changed from Manual Control. It shows as unavailable for as long as the rule is holding it.
Ending manual control
Click End Manual Control. The controller releases its channels and goes back to whatever it was doing before — typically the ambient routine.
Manual Control also ends automatically if you close the browser tab, lose your network connection, or start manual control from another tab on the same controller.
If the controller loses contact with Studio, Manual Control ends on its own after about 30 seconds and the channels return to their normal programmed behavior. A manual session you forget about can't leave outputs stuck.
Manual Control vs. Live Preview
Manual Control and Live Preview both drive a controller in real time, but they're different tools:
- Manual Control drives channels directly from sliders and buttons. No timeline. For wiring tests, demos, troubleshooting.
- Live Preview plays a show from the timeline editor on real hardware. For authoring shows.
Starting one ends the other.
Permissions
Manual Control requires permission to control your controllers. Viewers can't drive channels; editors and admins can. Set per-user roles in your Studio's Settings → Members.