Here are some of the most-asked questions and their
answers.
For additional information, use Adobe Acrobat Reader's
search feature to search the Getting Started and Reference
manuals.
Where are the manuals?
All of the Lightwright manuals are installed in the Lightwright folder on your hard drive when you install Lightwright. If you have lost them and need replacements, click the Download link at the top of this page. "Getting Started..." is the tutorial.Worksheet
- Lights won't sort by unit
number
- I'm confused by Systems and Universes. Help!
- Sorting is misbehaving - sorting by circuit number doesn't work, or sorting by template is wrong, what's up?
- How do I get rid of colors
(hanging positions, instrument types, etc.) that I am not
using anymore?
- My worksheet cells are turning
red. How do I get them back to black?
- How can I add a light before
Unit #1 on a pipe?
- I am having trouble with
Cut/Copy/Paste; things wind up in the wrong category
columns.
- Why are some worksheet rows
collapsible and others aren't?
- How can I get Lightwright to
collapse some attribute rows, but not others?
- How do I attach an Attributes
List to one of my lights?
- How do I remove an Attributes
List from one of my lights?
- What does it mean when
Lightwright asks me if I want to delete "ALL parts of the
light"?
- How do I add more than one
striplight at a time?
- What do the little black dots in
worksheet cells mean?
- What are the rules for numbering?
Counting
- Lightwright will not separate
my colors properly; it thinks R-33,L-110 is one
color.
- Lightwright will not count
colors for one of my instrument types.
- Lightwright isn't counting
my color and/or equipment properly -- it's off by
hundreds!
- Lightwright counts the wrong
number of color frames for one or more of my instrument
types
Printing & Layouts
- One or more of my layouts do
not appear on the layout popup menus.
- I cannot get Lightwright to
print a Page Index, even when I uncheck NO Page
Indexes.
- I like the layout I designed for my
Channel Hookup, but it seems like an awful lot of work to
have to go through all that again to make my Dimmer
Hookup and Instrument Schedules look the same
way.
Sharing Files
- Can I save a version 4 show file in
version 3 format?
- How do I send someone my
changes?
- How do I give someone my
worknotes? And how do I get someone else's
worknotes?
- Can I move focus charts from one
show file to another?
- Can I exchange data betwen Lightwright and AutoCAD?
Other
How can I get Lightwright to collapse some attribute rows, but not others?
Go to Maintenance/Instrument type and find the light whose attributes you want to work on.
Click in the attributes column for that type (it's the one on the far right with the horizontal bars icon), which will open the attributes list.
For each attribute, either check or un-check the "Hide" checkbox to the right of it. If the box is checked, then that attribute will be hidden when worksheet rows are collapsed or when attributes are omitted from printouts. If the "hide" checkbox is UN-checked, then the attribute will always be visible on both the worksheet and on printouts.
Why are some worksheet rows collapsible and others aren't?
There are several conditions that have to be met before a group fo worksheet rows will collapse:
1. The instrument type must either be flagged as collapsible, or have an attributes list attached to it.Go to Maintenance/Instrument Type, select the Attribs tab, then look in the column with the red disclosure triangle at its heading. Click in the appropriate row to put a triangle in the column. If the column is filled with grey, then it means an attribute list is attached to the light and is controlling what can collapse.To see what attributes are collapsible, click in the Attributes column (the one on the far right with a little "list" symbol in its heading). The Attribute List window will open, showing the various attributes. Each attribute has a "Hide" checkbox. If the box is checked, then that attribute will be hidden when the instrument is collapsed.
2. The adjacent worksheet rows must have the same position and unit number, and the unit number cannot be zero. Unit numbers such as 4, 4.0, 4.1, and 4.2 are considered to be the same unit number, as are striplight letters A1, A2, and A3.
3. You have to be viewing sorted by Position.
Lightwright isn't counting my color and/or equipment properly -- it's off by hundreds!
You're probably using the same unit number for all or most of your lights. Unit numbers help Lightwright determine whether or not a light is a multiple-channel fixture, so if all your lights have the same unit number, Lightwright thinks they're one giant moving light. Lights with zero as the unit number will always be considered separate lights when counting.
Sorting is misbehaving!
Some copies of the Lightwright 4 installer shipped with their sorting preferences set badly. To correct them, go to Setup/Sorting and click on the "Restore All Defaults" button.
Lights won't sort by unit number!
Display the offending position using the View menu - use the View/Position choice, not View/All. Look in the bottom left-hand corner of the worksheet and you'll see a small lock icon. The icon is probably showing "locked". This will happen whenever you drag lights out of their normal sorted order, so that you can put lights in any ordr you want them. To let them go back to sorting by unit number, click on the lock icon to "unlock" it.
Lightwright will not separate my colors properly; it thinks R-33,L-110 is one color.
Look in Vocabulary (Setup / Vocabulary) and see what your list/color separator phrases are. They do not match what you are actually using to separate your colors
How do I get rid of colors (hanging positions, instrument types, etc.) that I am not using anymore?
To get rid of the unused names in all categories, use Maintenance / Remove All Unused.
If you want to clean up just ONE category, choose Maintenance for the category you want to clean up. When the Maintenance list for that category opens, click the [Remove Unused] button.
Note: If you clean up instrument types using either of these methods, any with stock quantities will not be removed from the list. To get rid of them, set the stock quantity to zero for that type and then click [Remove Unused]. You can alternatively use the following method:
If you want to get rid of just ONE name type in any category, choose Maintenance for the category you want to clean up, click on the name you want to delete, and click [Remove]. If you choose to delete an instrument type with a stock quantity, Lightwright will ask for confirmation before doing so.
My worksheet cells are turning red. How do I get them back to black?
Lightwright keeps track of which cells you've changed and shows them in red if the menu item Worksheet/Highlight Changed Cells is selected. In addition, any red cells can be exported to another person (File/Export Worksheet Changes), thereby giving them the changes you've made in the show file.
When you want to reset the change status, choose Worksheet/Reset Cell Highlighting. Everything will go back to black until you start making changes again.
If you don't want to see the highlighting, but do not want to reset the change status, simplyl select Worksheet/Highlight Changed Cells again to turn the display option off.
How can I add a light before Unit #1 on a pipe?
Use 0a, 0b, etc. for the unit number or, while displaying the hanging position it is on, drag the light to the top of the worksheet.
One or more of my layouts do not appear on the layout popup menus.
Layout popups are divided into two sections:
The top half has layouts that Lightwright finds in your show's layouts folder.The bottom half has layouts that are in Lightwright's layouts folder.
To use a layout located in any other place, use File/Open Layout.
I get a CRC error when running the Lightwright for Windows installer.
Ah, the wonders of Windows! The problem is probably with one or more settings on your computer.
If you are running either Windows 95 or 98:
Go to the DOS prompt and enter the word SET. Look at the list you get and find the line that says TEMP=
Look at the name of the directory listed after that. On my system the line says
TEMP=C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
Then go see if that directory exists. If it doesn't exist or isn't writable, then you'll get the CRC error message.
Another possibility is one or more missing DLL's. Be sure your system has VER.DLL and DDEML.DLL in your Windows\System directory. Everybody's system should have them, but if either one is missing then you'll get the CRC error message.
If you are running Windows NT/2000/XP, etc.:
You will need to look in the registry (using RegEdit) under the ENVIRONMENT label for the same "TEMP=" line mentioned above. Then make sure that directory exists and is writable.
Your "temp" folder has probably inadvertently been set to read-only. It needs to have read+write privileges in order to run the LW installer.
.
Lightwright will not count colors for one of my instrument types.
Choose Setup/Color Frames and check the Per Ckt column to see if N or N/A has accidentally been entered there instead of the correct number.
Lightwright counts the wrong number of color frames for one or more of my instrument types
Chooset Setup/Color Frames and check the Per Ckt column to see if an incorrect number has been entered there. Lights other than striplights should normally have 1 in thise column.
I am having trouble with Cut/Copy/Paste; things wind up in the wrong category columns.
Make sure the order of the categories on the worksheet is the same as the categories on the clipboard. Lightwright pastes in order from left to right and from top down, irrespective of categories.
I cannot get Lightwright to print a Page Index, even when I uncheck NO Page Indexes.
Most importantly, the layout you are using must specify that indexes are to be printed. If the layout does not call for indexes, then they will not be printed in any case. If the layout does include the page index, then the NO Page Indexes option will suppress the index.
To see whether or not a layout includes the page index, go to Layout, select the appropriate paperwork using the Paperwork menu, then select Layout/Options. In the bottom left-hand corner of the Options window you will see Print Page Index. This option must be checked in order for page indexes to be printed.
I like the layout I designed for my Channel Hookup, but it seems like an awful lot of work to have to go through all that again to make my Dimmer Hookup and Instrument Schedules look the same way.
In Layout, go to the Channel Hookup. Then select Clone from the Layout menu and choose the parts of your Channel Hookup that you like. Also choose the Dimmer Hookup and Instrument Schedule (and any other kinds of paperwork you want to have the same look), then click OK.
The headers and footers are the same for all of your paperwork. Only the columns and other data objects will vary from one kind of report to another.
How do I attach an Attributes List to one of my lights?
If the instrument type already exists:
Go to Maintenance/Instrument Type and select the Attribs tab, then click in the Attributes column (the one on the far right with a little "list" symbol in its heading). The attribute list will open. You can either fill in the fields or choose a pre-built list. To choose a pre-built list, click <Use List> button and select from one of the files in Lightwright's Attributes folder. When you have the attributes to your liking, click <Close> to close the Attribute list, then click <Close> again to close the Maintenance window. Lightwright will automatically add or remove worksheet rows to match the attribute list.
If the instrument type doesn't exist yet:
Go to Maintenance/Instrument Type and click <Att List Add>. Choose one of the attribute lists in Lightwright's Attributes folder. If you want to use a different name (something less cumbersome, perhaps), then click on the name, make corrections or changes to it, and click <Update>.
How do I remove an Attributes List from one of my lights?
To disconnect a list from all instances of an instrument type:
Go to Maintenance/Instrument Type and select the Attribs tab, then click in the Attributes column (the one on the far right with a little "list" symbol in its heading). The attribute list will open. Click <Clear All>, then <Close>. Lightwright will automatically remove all associated worksheet rows.
To disconnect a list from just one particular light:
Select all of the worksheet rows for that light, then choose Worksheet/Detach From Attributes List.
What does it mean when Lightwright asks me if I want to delete "ALL parts of the light"?
"ALL Parts" includes anything that can be considered part of that light, including attribute rows, additional striplight circuits, and any devices having the same position name and unit number as the selected light.
Lightwright is getting really slow. What can I do to speed it up?
Add RAM to your computer. For shows with a thousand worksheet rows or less, 256MB of RAM is usually enough. For larger shows you will definitely need more. 1GB is minimum for shows with 10,000 items or more. Windows will never complain it's short of RAM, it just gets slower and slower.
How can I get a log of the work notes I've done?
Go to Setup/Work Notes. Check the option to "Add purged work notes to WorkLog.txt file"
To Purge done work notes (which will put them into the work log file), either choose Purge Done Work Notes from the Utilities menu, or click the Purge button in the Work Notes window.
How do I add more than one striplight at a time?
Just like you would any other number: Enter the beginning and ending numbers, separated by a hyphen. Examples: A1-D1 or A1-A4
What do the little black dots in worksheet cells mean?
A black dot in the lower right corner of a worksheet cell means the cell is locked and can't be changed on the worksheet. If cell is in the Wattage column, then the wattage has been locked in List Maintenance. If the cell is in any other column, then it is being controlled by an attributes list.
How do I send someone my changes?
Select File/Export Worksheet Changes, which will generate a special file containing only the changes you've made. The other person then uses File/Merge Worksheet Changes to apply the changes to their show file. If lights have been added or deleted, then the same lights will be added or removed from their show file, and any worksheet edits will be applied.
How do I give someone my worknotes? And how do I get someone else's worknotes?
Use File/Export Work Notes, which will create a file containing only the work notes and references to any lights they apply to. The person receiving the work notes file then uses File/Merge Work Notes to bring them into their show file. Duplicate work notes will not be brought in, only new ones.
Can I move focus charts from one show file to another?
Yes. Use File/Merge. One of the things it can bring into the current show file is the complete focus charts from another file. Note that for best results, both show files must have started life as the same file. Otherwise, Lightwright will try to use Positions and Unit numbers to match up lights, which can work but is not as precise as Lightwright's internal methods.
Can I save a version 4 show file in version 3 format?
Lightwright 4 can export version 4 show files in versions 2 and 3 format, but of course anything that those versions cannot understand will not be included. So if you have put info into any of the new columns or entered things like weights or attribute lists, it will not be included in the older file. Also, if you go beyond the earlier version's overall capacities (such as total number of instruments or # of circuit names/purposes/etc. or highest channel/dimmer numbers), those things will not be included in the exported file. If this is going to happen, LW4 will put up a large warning with complete details about what will be missing before it does the export.
The cleanest solution is to have the person to whom you're sending the file upgrade to version 4!
Can I exchange Lightwright data with AutoCad?
Yes, as long as you're using AutoCad 2005, it's easy. It requires two lisp commands from the Express Tools add-on for 2005 (it theoretically doesn't work with the LT version which doesn't support lisp): ATTOUT produces a tab-delimited file, ATTIN updates blocks from the same.
The process really couldn't be simpler; from the space where the lights are drawn, run ATTOUT, give it a file name and location, and select the blocks you want to take info from. In LW, follow the same process you would for any other import, putting the HANDLE field into 'external ID' and BLOCKNAME into 'CAD Symbol Name'. To update the drawing, export a tab-delimited file (with the data fields in the same order they were brought in), then from the space where the lights are drawn run ATTIN and select the file; if it can't resolve a record, it will prompt you to select a block to update. The one thing it won't do is Vectorworks' trick of adding new symbols for new records.
