Add Fixtures
Windows Fixture Editor
If the fixture you wish to control is not included in the ZerOS Library, it can be created using the Zero 88 Fixture Editor software for Windows.
This is a quick start guide on how to use the Fixture Type Editor software for Windows to create your own fixture files. Once you have created your custom fixture file, you can then save the file to a USB stick, plug into your console, and load the file in.
Upon opening the Fixture Type Editor, choose "Creating a New (Empty) Fixture Type File" and click OK.
Then, double click on "Manufacturers" top left, and type in your missing fixture's manufacturer name, and click OK.
Then right click under "Fixture Type" and choose "Add Fixture Type".
Then under the General tab of the window that opens, give your fixture a short name, and a long name. The long name is the name displayed on ZerOS consoles.
If your fixture has different modes, you will create a different fixture type for each mode. These are then named by separating the fixture name and the mode name with space colon space ( : ). In the example on the left, the fixture name is "LED Par", and the mode name is "Mode 1".
Then go to the Parameters tab, right click, and choose Add Parameter.
You can then give your parameter a name, and use the Attribute, Size and Special options to define the parameter. The parameter name is limited to 7 characters. As there is not a dedicated "Shape" attribute, any Gobo parameters created under Beamshape will automatically load into the Shape attribute when loading into a FLX range console.
The Size field is used to select whether the parameter is 8-bit or 16-bit. 8 bit parameters use a single DMX channel. 16 bit parameters use two DMX channels. 16 bit resolution provides Coarse and Fine channels – these are entered below as MSB (Most Significant Byte) and LSB (Least Significant Byte) respectively.
When adding a Pan or Tilt parameter, select “Pan” or “Tilt” from the dropdown box.
To apply Red, Green and Blue parameters to the colour picker, simply use the "Red - Positive", "Green - Positive" and "Blue - Positive" options using the Special drop down after choosing the Colour attribute.
The channel number can be entered, and the default value of the parameter can also be entered. You must ensure that the the default values of all of your fixtures, will give you white light when the fixture is turned on. This means ensuring shutters default to open if an intensity parameter is present, and ensure Red, Green and Blue default to full to give white. Also ensure other parameters are at default, for example Pan and Tilt should be set to 127 (or 32767 for 16 bit) to default the fixture position to 50%. For a 16-bit parameter, this value can be specified up to 65535.
Note: When you add parameters to a fixture, the Fixture Type Editor will automatically increase the "DMX Allocate:" field. If you delete parameters, check that the DMX Allocate setting has the correct number, otherwise you will find the desk allocating too many DMX channels for your fixture.
Each fixture parameter can contain information about its function at any given DMX value. This is entered using the Details column in the parameter entry window. Double click a parameter to view the parameter window again. Switch to the Details tab to enter the details about a fixture.
Each detail can then be entered, with the relevant fields completed. Starting at a DMX value of 0, add the parameter details and midpoints sequentially.
The “Is Dark” box is used for defining a parameter which blacks out the beam.
If defining Colour parameters, you can enter the colour using RGB data.
Once all parameter details are entered, press OK to close the Parameter window.
Each fixture can have a Virtual Intensity channel. This channel is not assigned to a DMX address, but can be used to scale the output of other channels, creating an effective dimmer for colour mixing fixtures which do not have a separate dimmer.
An example of the use of a virtual intensity parameter would be an LED colour mixing fixture which has just 3 channels – Red, Green and Blue. By scaling these channels on a virtual master, you can dim a mixed colour.
First create the Virtual Intensity channel as a normal parameter, but tick the “Virtual Channel” box. Then select “Scale By Virtual Intensity” on the relevant fixture parameters.
Once you have created your fixture file, click File -> Save, and give your file a name. Save this file to the root of a USB stick, and you will then be able to plug it into the console.
On your console, then tap Setup -> Load, and choose your new fixture file from USB. You will then be able to tap Add Fixtures, and find and patch the fixture in the usual way.