LXFree

Copyright © 2018-2020
Claude Heintz Design

The File menu contains standard controls for opening and saving documents.

Advanced commands in the Format menu are not available in LXFree.

Plot documents can be opened and saved in two formats. The standard file that is created and edited by LXFree is in ".lxplot" format. This is an OS-X binary format that contains all the data of the plot plus information about the plot's window and printing. The XML based ".lxx" format contains the data from the plot in a format that can be exchanged with other applications and other operating systems. Because ".lxx" files are not operating system specific, they do not preserve window and printing data. Also, imported graphics are converted and stored in JPEG format for portability.

The Open URL... command will open an lxx file from a network location such as another computer with LXFree using the Share on Network feature (see below).

The Export... command allows you to save the contents of the plot in a number of formats.

PDF export creates a PDF file of the entire plot.

Universal Plot Document saves the plot as an LXSeries XML based drawing file (.lxxplot).

Mac-only Plot Document saves the plot as a binary drawing file (.lxplot).

DXF export is not available in LXFree. Using LXBeams, it creates an AutoCAD R14 DXF file. (AutoCAD and DXF are trademarks of Autodesk.)

Collada (.dae) export is not available in LXFree. Using LXBeams, it creates an file of 3D objects contained in the plot that can be imported into an 3D application such as Blender or SketchUp.

Faces export is not available in LXFree. Using LXBeams, it creates an file of 3D objects contained in the plot in LXSeries .faces format. Faces files can be used as models in the rendering window or can be imported into SketchUp with the plug-in that is available from the Install Extras-> menu.

LXConsole Display Config export is not available in LXFree. Using LXBeams, it saves channel text fields, simple lines and labels from the plot in an xml file that LXConsole can import through its' Display Options sheet.

Stage Plugin export is not available in LXFree. Using LXBeams, it saves light information for the Stage plugin for Cinema 4D https://hantmade.com/stage/.

The Share submenu contains commands that allow sharing of data with other applications.

Share on Network starts LXFree' embeded web server. This feature allows you to use a browser to view open plot and paperwork windows over a network connection. The Single Unit report also allows you to update the information for a light via the web. The Next and Prev buttons in the Single Unit report's web view are the same as the Select Next/Previous Object commands from the Edit->Select menu. These commands work best after using the Auto-Arrange command for the layer.

Share on Network command starts a HTTP sharing service which uses a network port that is either set in the preferences' export tab or is chosen by the operating system kernel. When you first start this sharing service, an alert is displayed with its network address. You can enter this in a browser or you can "discover" this service using the Bonjour bookmark tab in Safari. When you open this connection in a browser, initially you will see a page of links to the windows that are open and can be viewed over the web. Plot windows are displayed as PDF and report windows are displayed in HTML.

Share on Network also allows a file to be opened in another copy of LXFree over the network. The Open URL... command can be used with a URL of the form: http://server_ip_address:port/window_title/plot.lxplot or if the sharing computer is running LXFree Java on Windows, http://server_ip_address:port/window_title.lxx.

Upload to Box allows you to upload the current file to your Box account. You'll be presented with a web authorization window which allows you to sign in to your Box account. When you have signed in and given LXFree authorization to access your files, the current document will be uploaded. If a file of the same name exists in your main folder on Box, it will be overwritten. Uploads can take a varying amount of time depending on network speed. Uploads occur in the background so you can keep working. You will be notified if the upload succeeds or fails.

Upload to Dropbox allows you to upload the current file to your Dropbox account. You'll be switched to your browser where you can sign in to your Dropbox account. When you have signed in, you will be asked if its OK to create a new folder for LXSeries files. When you agree, the current file will be uploaded. Uploads can take a varying amount of time depending on network speed. Uploads occur in the background so you can keep working. You will be notified if the upload succeeds or fails.

Export for EOS... is not available in LXFree. Using LXBeams, it can be used to export either patch data or a magic sheet depending on the choice selected from the popup at the bottom of the save sheet.

The channel/patch data export saves a .txt file that can be imported using EOS' File->Import->Lightwright in the main console information area. After the file is imported, use the Map Devices button to associate the fixture types from LXSeries with their equivalent in EOS.

The magic sheet export choices all save an xml file that can be imported into an EOS Family Console's magic sheet but in different ways. The plot can be exported substituting a selection of standard symbols from EOS. Or, the symbols used in the drawing can be exported in a folder along with the magic sheet xml file. This folder cannot be moved once it is exported. If it is moved, the symbols won't be drawn because EOS won't know where to find them. The Symbols and file to be imported into EOS should be saved in a place that the EOS software can access. There is an option to save the magic sheet xml file so that it specifies a path pointing to the Symbols folder on a USB drive "D:".

Export Channel Data... allows the export of channel data including the channel to dimmer patch in several formats. When a single light is selected, one format option is to export the channel data as a .lxchannel file which contains the setup for only one channel.

Export Beams... is not available in LXFree. Using LXBeams, it creates a text file which is placed by default in the user's library "~/Library/Application Support/com.claudeheintzdesign.lxseries" folder. There are several formats for beam information that can be exported. The type of file and the information it contains is determined by the "Beam Export Format" setting in the Export tab of the Preferences.

Beam export in CSV or TXT format creates a file containing the location, focus and color information for each beam. Both of these file types can be read by a Ruby script or another program and used to generate a rendering. The Google Sketchup/IDX ruby script uses the CSV version for creating lights for rendering. Because the file has a standard name and location, the script can find it without prompting.

Beam export in SCR format creates a file that can be read through AutoCad's "SCRIPT" command. The .src file adds lights to the drawing based on the exported beams.

Beam export in DAE format creates a COLLADA file. COLLADA is a royalty-free XML schema that enables digital asset exchange within the interactive 3D industry. Collada is supported by a number of 3D applications including the popular open source Blender.

When POV format is selected, a "LXFree.inc" file is created in the user's library lx folder. This file contains lighting information in the format used by the POV-Ray open source raytracing application.

Inserting the following line in a POV scene file will include the lighting from LXFree when it is rendered:

#include "/Users/NNNN/Library/Application Support/com.claudeheintzdesign.lxseries/LXFree.inc"

(replacing NNNN with the appropriate user name)

The OSC command is not available in LXFree. Using LXBeams, it enables sending OSC messages when the levels of channels are adjusted. When the OSC command is selected, LXFree searches for an OSC network service. When it has connected to the service, the menu will have a check mark next to it. The OSC messages are in the command line format of LXConsole. That is, the message's OSC address has an LXConsole command line as its last container. You can change the network service discovered using Bonjour ("LX_OSC") and the first part of the OSC address ("/cmd.lxconsole/") by setting the preferences, osc_connection_name and osc_container_address.

The Import menu contains commands that allow you to import data from other applications.

Graphic import will open any image file format supported by OX X including PDF, JPEG, etc. The Import->Graphic command will replace an existing image when a single image is selected.

DXF import will read basic DXF entities into layers in the current plot from an ascii DXF file. Arc, circle, line and polyline elements are imported. Text and ellipse are partially supported.p>Blocks of supported entities are imported as groups of objects when inserted into a DXF. If the group has more graphic elements than the cutoff specified in the import sheet, the block is imported as a pre-rendered image. Another way of reducing the complexity of imported DXF files is to ignore entities that are smaller than the size specified in the import options sheet.

>Import DXF may change the size of the plot so that all imported entities are visible. Import DXF is optionally undoable. Because of the potentially large number of graphics created, making a DXF import undoable can require a lot of memory.

The Data import reads a number of different file types. Light data can be imported from a tab delimited text file. The first line of the file must contain tab separated column headings. Subsequent lines should contain tab seperated data fields. Each line is interpreted by looking for a light in the plot that matches the "Position" and "#" fields. The remaining columns are then used to set that light's info fields.

Data import can also extract and import light data from an LX XML Plot file. Data import reads LXConsole display configuration files and converts channel locations into channel text fields.

The Fly (csv) import command reads a comma separated value (.csv) file containing a fly schedule and uses the information to create objects the current layer.

Import->EOS Patch using OSC is not available in LXFree. Using LXBeams, it requires that an OSC connection is established both ways between LXFree and the EOS console software. With this OSC connection made, LXFree can request patch information from EOS and updates it patch accordingly. In cases where a channel has more than one part, the channel part information must be aligned in the info properties of LXFree and the EOS patch.

Setup Files including key and library files can be imported into the plot.

DMX import is not available in LXFree. Using LXBeams, it listens for Art-Net or sACN packets and sets dimmer levels according to the received DMX data.