Feature Request: Channel groups in Import Configuration

[Steven]

Goal: I would like to always be able to "Import Configuration" for the new year without messing up my sequence.

To do this, I keep track 1 the "Master" track, where I only add channels.

If the "Import Configuration" imports a channel group where there was one existing, but the new channel group has more channels, I would like the events in the channel beneath this group to remain with their original channels.

Let me give an example:

Last year's configuration has an iDMX channel group with 48 channels (because that's all I was using last year.) Under this iDMX is a CTB-16PC controller with 16 channels and events.

I want to add another 32 channels to the iDMX controller because this year I have more DMX channels. However, if I do this in the current software, the events that were on the CTB-16PC get moved to the new channels in the iDMX controller.

The only way around this is to split the iDMX channel group to put the new channels in a separate group under the CTB-16PC.

Was that clear? Or am I just being crazy?

[Dennis Cherry]

No, you are correct.

If you add channels they have to be added as bottom channels.

Loading a configuration file only see Tracks in a top down loading.

Delete or move any is a no no also unless you know how to do it.

[Steven]

Let me rephrase my feature request:

When importing a configuration, if a channel group being imported is at the same position as the existing channel group, and it has the same channels as the existing channel group plus additional channels,...

Then the import should "insert" those additional channels instead of overwriting the existing channels that appear after the channel group.

Is this a reasonable request? Or would it make importing even more complicated?

[ItsMeBobO]

Keeping a master track to add channels has always meant adding at the bottom. So the effects already in a sequence stay with the existing channels.

I see what you are getting at. For logical grouping you want to insert new channels not at the bottom of the track by adding to the bottom of a group. Do you have all the channels in other groups too? Those tracks can be used for the arrangements you want to see them in. My master has some non-ideal things like that too. But I usually keep it hidden and use the other logical tracks.

[-klb-]

Don't have the groups present in your master track, but only the channels that are members of the group. Then you don't get your new channels at bottom requirement messed up.

I go out of my way to diss associate groups from each other when duplicating tracks as well. I wish there was a check box when duplicating tracks to disassociate the groups in the new track from the ones in the old, instead of both tracks pointing to the same group instance.

[Steven]

ItsMeBobO wrote:

My master has some non-ideal things like that too. But I usually keep it hidden and use the other logical tracks.

Like you, I guess I'll just resign myself to the fact that my master track has the channels in a weird order, and of course use the other tracks for sequencing.

[-klb-]

With colors added to different items on different years, and additional counts of some items being added different years, the city show master track has about zero functionality besides importing channel configs. Nothing in it has any logic at all. It is usually locked and out of sight.