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Lighting

Lighting tracks are how you build dimming cues for the LED Controller, the Output 8 MKII's Multistate channels (in solid-state mode), and any other dimmable hardware. Servo tracks behave the same way; just substitute "0–180°" for "0–100%".

Control points​

A lighting track is defined by a series of control points. Each control point is a (time, value) pair. Between control points, the channel ramps smoothly from one value to the next — a control point at 2 seconds at 0% and another at 3 seconds at 100% gives you a 1-second linear ramp from off to full.

The track shows you the envelope as a filled area below a solid line, with a circle at each control point.

Endpoints​

Every lighting track always has two endpoints:

  • Start endpoint — at the very beginning of the show
  • End endpoint — at the very end of the show

These endpoints can't be moved horizontally and can't be deleted. They're how the controller knows what value the channel starts and ends at.

By default, the two endpoints are linked — drag one and the other follows, so the start and end values match. This is what you want for an ambient routine that loops cleanly. To unlink, hold Ctrl while dragging an endpoint. To re-link, double-click the end endpoint.

Adding a control point​

Switch to the Draw tool. Click anywhere in the track area to place a control point at your cursor position. The horizontal position is grid-snapped; the vertical position is whatever you clicked at.

Click-and-hold to drag the control point you just placed — useful for fine adjustments before you commit. The creation and the drag count as a single undo step.

Editing a control point​

In Select mode:

  • Drag any control point to move it. Endpoints can only move vertically. Interior control points move both ways.
  • Drag past a neighbor to reorder. The editor lets you drag a control point through its neighbors instead of clamping; the order updates as you cross.
  • Double-click an endpoint to re-link to the other endpoint's value.

Editing several at once​

You can select multiple control points and drag them as a group:

  • Ctrl+click to add control points to the selection one at a time.
  • Click-and-drag in empty track area (Select mode) to draw a selection rectangle.
  • Drag any selected control point and they all move together — even across multiple tracks.

This is how you'd shift a whole lighting cue's timing by a fraction of a second: select all the control points, drag them.

Deleting a control point​

Two ways:

  • Select mode + Delete/Backspace key — deletes selected control points.
  • Delete tool + click a control point — deletes that one.

Endpoints can't be deleted. Move them instead.

Tips​

  • For a smooth fade-in from black, drag the start endpoint to 0% and the next control point to your peak value.
  • For a flat hold at full, set two control points at the same value with a time gap between them.
  • For a sharp transition, put two control points very close together at different values.
  • Loops should start and end at the same value, with the linked endpoints (the default). Otherwise you'll see a visible "snap" at the loop boundary.