Models

Models

Defining a Model

• A model in xLights/Nutcracker defines the entire required characteristic about a single physical element of your display. Typically it will represent a common item such as an arch, a matrix, a straight line, flood light as well as more esoteric and custom made items such as singing trees, candy canes, a snowman etc.

It defines the type of lights, the number of channels and other characteristics required to render the sequence data. When a model is defined, it is retained in an xLights/Nutcracker configuration .xml file in the show directory. It can be reused for all subsequent sequences – however it needs to be added to the sequence grid of each sequence as required in order for effects to then be sequenced against the model. A model is made up of one or more strands, and each strand is made up of one or more nodes. To define a model, after opening an existing sequence or creating a new one.

Click on the Models icon on the top row of the canvas or Click on the Models button on the Layout window Right click when in the sequencer window, select Edit Display Elements and then Add Models Clicking on the Models icon, the model list window will display any existing models that have already been defined.

Model groups

• Model Groups can be used to group a number of similar elements (Arch1 … Arch6), so that by dropping an effect at the group level, the effect will be applied to all models that are part of the group.

It can also be used to limit what you see on the display, by creating a group of selected models and then adding the group to the display on the Layout tab. Dropping an effect on a Model group will give different results to dropping the same model on all elements of the group (because in the former case the canvas is treated as a whole matrix and then the effect is applied to the models within it). Some effects work at the Group level better than others.

Creating a Model Group

• To create a Model Group, from the layout tab click on Select Model Groups.

From the Model Groups window, click on Edit Groups. Click on Add Group to create a new group and replace the name of the group in the Group Name. A list of all available defined models will be displayed in the left hand window. Use the arrows to add models to the Group). Click on Update Group when complete.

Modifying a Model Group

• To modify the models that form part of a group, click on the group name in the top right hand window.

The models that are currently in the group will be displayed in the ‘Models in Group’ window and the other models will be displayed in the ‘Add to Group’ window. Use the arrows to add or remove models as required and click on the Update Group when done.

Removing a Model Group

• To remove a Model Group, select the Model Group and click Remove Group. This will not change or remove any of the underlying models, however any effects that have been placed at the group level on the sequencer will be removed and the Model group will be removed from the Layout display if it has been added to that display.

• Tip: When on the sequencer tab, If you right click on a Model group, the window will display a ‘Toggle Models’ option which will display all the models under the Model group (or hide them if you select the option again). You can also double click on the Model Group to obtain the same results.