Understanding Network Preferences

[brianfox]

This is my first year using multi LOR-networks, and while I understand what the Network Preferences is supposed to do, I cannot figure out why it is located in the Sequence Editor.

This is not a nitpicking post. I'm trying to understand why it is not something that is located in the Control Panel. For the longest time, I was convinced that the Network settings were somehow saved in the sequence files themselves. It's just confusing to see it in the Sequence Editor.

Also, I don't know if this is a bug or not, but I have noticed that my network settings sometimes change without my knowledge. For example, I am using 7 networks this year, but if I start Sequence Editor with only one of the RS485 converters connected, my Network Preferences will change - removing some COM associations I have previously made, and reassigning some COM associations. I would expect network preferences to never change unless I do it myself.

[-klb-]

Even with a single network, you can't set network preferences through the control panel. Though you can also update a single network configuration through the hardware utility. (and mess up a multi network set up, if you are not careful)

I think the reason it is in the sequence editor is that it has had a more developed user interface for much longer. It is saving the configurations local to the machine, not into the sequence. I do all my editing on a system that often does not have any USB com ports, and have no issues using them on the show PC. The sequence editor on the show PC is used to save a local configuration read by the show player that ties the networks to com ports.

[brianfox]

-klb- wrote:

Even with a single network, you can't set network preferences through the control panel. Though you can also update a single network configuration through the hardware utility. (and mess up a multi network set up, if you are not careful)

Could you please elaborate on how one can mess up a multi-network with HU?

[-klb-]

Fire up hardware utility. Select the com port for the network you want to test. It will ask you if this is now the com port you want to use for shows. If you click yes, this com port will both become disassociated with the network you really want it on, and it will displace the network for the "regular" network.

Always click no to that prompt.

[brianfox]

Thanks! THAT may be what I was seeing in my original post. I always answered yes to the prompt, thinking that yes, it is a port I want to use for shows. I didn't read it as asking me if it was THE port I wanted to use for shows...

I don't understand the benefit of it asking that question. under what circumstances would a person answer yes?

[-klb-]

That dialog is rather useful if you only have one network. If you wind up with a different adapter, it makes a quick shortcut to set up your regular network, while you happen to know which com port it is on.

It is not remotely useful if you have multiple networks.

[bob]

At this point I think the main reason the network preferences are in the Sequence Editor is just "that's where they've always been".

I guess that the underlying reason is because the Sequence Editor needs them, and historically (at the time that LOR as a whole was first being made) it was probably the program into which the most development time was put (certainly at least one of the most), and so things that it needed tended to go into it directly. It's been a long time, though, so maybe I'm forgetting some better reason that we might have had at the time.

[brianfox]

bob wrote:

At this point I think the main reason the network preferences are in the Sequence Editor is just "that's where they've always been".

I guess that the underlying reason is because the Sequence Editor needs them, and historically (at the time that LOR as a whole was first being made) it was probably the program into which the most development time was put (certainly at least one of the most), and so things that it needed tended to go into it directly.  It's been a long time, though, so maybe I'm forgetting some better reason that we might have had at the time.

While I agree with that, Bob, any program that is ultimately capable of controlling lights needs to know the settings. It just seems wierd that if I have a show already sequenced and set up, and simply reassign a COM port for whatever reason, I need to go to the Sequence Editor - not even loading and saving a sequence - to make the change official.

I guess it's more of a feature request at this point that Network preferences be moved to a more central location. The Control Panel is the closest thing we have to a shell at this point.

Now that my original concern has been addressed, it does seem like more like I'm nitpicking at this point...

[bob]

Yes, multiple programs needed to know about it, but only one program was needed with which the user could set them. As the Sequence Editor was the one that was getting the most development time, it was the one that wound up allowing the user to set them.

As for moving it to Control Panel or elsewhere, I suggest sending this request in an email to wishlist@lightorama.com.

[brianfox]

Thanks, Bob. I just sent the request, and pointed to this thread.