Settings is listed at the bottom of the Control Panel's main menu. Here you can set values that control the look or behavior of the program, but items you should seldom need to change.
Launch At Start-up
If you wish, you can set it up so that the Control Panel will automatically be run whenever your computer starts up (and therefore you won't have to start it via the Start menu anymore). To do this, select "Launch at Startup" in the Settings section header.
Launch at Startup
Settings Tabs
The Settings tabs
Settings are divided into 7 categories. Click on a tab to move to the desired category.
•LOR Communications (Comm)
•Misc
Theme
Theme selection
Using the Theme drop-down, you can choose between:
•System - follow the system's light/dark theme setting. For example, if you have set Windows to use a dark theme, then the Control Panel will also use a dark theme.
•Light - use a light theme - dark text on a light background.
•Dark - use a dark theme - light text on a dark background.
•High Contrast - high contrast mode is an accessibility feature that alters the colors used by the program to maximize legibility. It's popular among people with low vision or photosensitivity.
Click the "Use Custom Accent Color" check box to select an accent color different than the one defined in the system theme. Choose your desired color by clicking on one of the color blocks.
Selecting a custom accent color
LOR Communications
Communication tab
Comm Listener Port
This section can be used to configure the IP port that the Control Panel listens on for lighting commands from the Sequencer and Hardware Utility. The default port of 8837 should work for nearly all users, but can be changed here if it conflicts with other software on your computer.
MC-P Controllers
If you are using Light-O-Rama MC-P controllers purchased prior to 2005, then you should enable MC-P compatibility mode by checking this box. If you do not check this box, then you will see odd behavior on circuits 9 through 16 of such controllers.
MC-P compatibility mode only affects controllers on the Regular LOR network; those on Aux networks are unaffected. Therefore, make sure to put all such controllers on your Regular network.
NOTE: Enabling MC-P compatibility mode may have a significant effect on communications speed for the regular network. It is therefore strongly recommended that you do not enable it without reason, and that if you do enable it, you should consider moving any other Light-O-Rama controllers (which do not need MC-P compatibility mode) off of the Regular network, and onto one or more auxiliary networks.
Video
Video tab
This setting controls how sequences with video media (e.g. AVI, WMV, or MP4) should be handled. If you select "Display videos in a window" or "Display videos full screen" in the top section, then you can select when the video window is displayed in the bottom section.
If you want video displayed full screen on a certain monitor or projector, follow these steps:
1.In the top section of Video Settings select "Display videos in a window" (first option).
2.In the bottom section of Video Setting, select "Whenever Play Shows is set to Show Player or Cue List Player" (second option).
3.Use Show on Demand to start your show with video media
4.Move the video window to the desired monitor by dragging the title bar with your mouse
5.Stop the show. The video window should still be open
6.Go to Settings > Video and select full screen. The existing window should immediately go full screen on the monitor it was on.
Your video settings will be saved automatically.
Folders
Folder tab
This tab lists key folders where your Light-O-Rama files are stored: sequences, audio/video, and previews. Clicking any of the directory names will open a new Windows File Explorer window displaying that directory.
Click the "Change Light-O-Rama Folder Location" button to change the default folder where your audio and sequence files are stored. This will display a message telling you to close ALL Light-O-Rama programs, and then re-open the Control Panel. At that point, you will have the opportunity to change the location of your Light-O-Rama folder.
You should back up your existing Light-O-Rama folder before initiating this action. Use with caution!
Integration
REST API
An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. [from Wikipedia]
The Control Panel's REST API allows other programs on the same local area network to control certain aspects of your show. If you don't use any third part tools that integrate with the Control Panel, then leave this option disabled (off). A complete list of messages can be found in the REST API Reference topic.
OSC (Open Sound Control)
Open Sound Control (OSC) is a protocol for networking sound synthesizers, computers, and other multimedia devices for purposes such as musical performance or show control. Learn more in the Wikipedia article. This is an optional feature meant for advanced users. It is not required to make you show run.
The Control Panel can listen for incoming OSC messages that will control certain aspects of your show. A complete list of messages can be found in the OSC Messages topic.
In this section you need to specify which network (IP address) and on which port the Control Panel will listen. The port listed here must match the OSC application that is sending the messages.
The "Respond to incoming OSC messages" check box turns this function on or off.
Time Code Sync
Time code synchronization allows multiple displays and third party systems to synchronize with one another using open standards. This is an optional feature meant for advanced users. It is not required to make you show run.
See the time code synchronization topic for more information.
Misc
•In Create Shows, you can enter scheduled start and stop times on 1, 5, 10, or 15 minute boundaries, which can reduce the number of minutes you must scroll through when entering a schedule start/stop time. Changing this setting has no effect on existing schedules.
•By default, the Show Player screen will update 1 once per second. A slower update rate (increasing the number of seconds between updates) reduces CPU usage. A slower rate also reduces the chance of uncontrolled memory consumption. This setting has no effect on the control of the lights in your display
•If you want to schedule shows relative to sunrise and/or sunset, the Control Panel needs to know location. Enter the latitude and longitude of your display. If you don't know it, you can click the "Get My Location" button and the program will estimate your location based on your IP address (you must have an Internet connection for this to work). Latitude values must be a decimal number between 0 and 90 for the northern hemisphere, and between 0 and -90 for the southern hemisphere. Longitude values must be decimal number between 0 and 180 for the eastern hemisphere, and between 0 and -180 for the western hemisphere. For example, Chicago is latitude 41.8818, longitude -87.6232.
An alternative to the "Get My Location" button is to look up your city at https://www.latlong.net/. The latitude and longitude values do not need to be exact in order to calculate sunrise and sunset; getting the values for a city or town near you should be fine.
•Lowest level of detail included in program log - use this drop-down to specify how much detail is included in the Control Panel's log file. Setting this to "Warning" or "Error" will keep your log files small. "information" is the recommended setting. If you have a help desk ticket, you might be directed by Light-O-Rama personnel to set this to "Debug", which will capture the maximum amount of detail.
•Show separate icons for musical and animation sequences in Recent Sequences - when this box is checked, separate icons are used for musical and animation sequences in Recent Sequences. Checking this box is normally OK. However, it can cause the Control Panel to take longer to open, particularly when the Light-O-Rama folder is on a network drive. Leave this box unchecked if the Control Panel is taking a long time to open.
About
About tab
The About tab shows information about the Control Panel program and some information about your computer. The "Copy" button can be used to copy this information to the clipboard. When creating a ticket with the Light-O-Rama Help Desk, copying and then pasting this information into your ticket can help Light-O-Rama personnel resolve your issue more quickly.